Improvement in harvesters



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. S. A. CLEMENS.

Harvester Rake.

No. 16,721. Patented March 3, 1857.

N. PETERS, Mo-Lflhcgrin eh Washington. D.C

. 2 Sheets--Sheet 2. S. A. CLEMENS. I

Harvester Rake.

No. 16,721.- Patented March 3. 1857.

N. PETERS, Phnlmuiwgmphan wamngmn. u. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcne S. A. CLEMENS, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEM ENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 16,72I, dated March 3, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STILLMAN A. CLEMENS, of the city of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figurelis aplan, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of my improved machine; and Fig. 3 an elevation and section of some of the parts of the same.

My improvements in harvesting-machines consist in arranging to operate the sickle by means of a catch-wheel, which forms part'of or is attached to or connected with the drivin g-wheel, the teeth of said catch-wheel being made to engage successively the end of a catch-finger, which is attached to a rock-shaft uponwhich is an arm, which also is attached to or touches one end of a rod, which at the other end is connected to the sickle, the said rod having a spring attached in such a way that when the rod is moved in one direction by the connection with the catch-wheel the attached spring is charged at the same time that the sickle is also moved in one of its directions, and then, by the sudden release of the catch-finger or its equivalent apparatus from the engaging tooth of the revolving catchwheel, the spring recoils, imparting a quick reverse motion to the attached rod, and the sickle and rock-shaft, with their appendages, returning the catch-finger of the latter to a position for again being lifted by the next tooth of the catch-wheel, the extent of the recoil of the spring being regulated by an adjustable elastic cushion attached to the rod, and made to strike upon a fixed surface attached to the machine; or the catch-wheel may be so made and attached as that its teeth shall successively act upon the sickle-rod and effect the described movement for charging the spring and moving the sickle without the interposition of the rock-shaft and its attached finger and arm, the catch-wheel being made crown-faced or of the spur-shaped arrangement, the last being used to best advantage when the catch-wheel is made to act directly upon the end of the sickle-rod.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the frame of the machine, which is represented as of cast-iron, but may be varied in material and in some of the details of construction. This frame has joints B B near its middle, which permit the elevation or depression of O (the pole of the machine) without affecting the position of the rear part of the frame.

D is the driving-wheel, upon the axle of which, as its pivot, the rear part of the frame A can be swung up or down to secure any elevation or depression of the attached parts.

E is the finger-bar, which is connected to the frame A by making the rear end of the latter in the form of a half-tube, with the hollow side presenting upward, as shown in the figures, This receives the end of the finger-bar E, which, in the part which forms the connection, is also made in the form of a half-tube, the external diameter of which is such as will allow it to fit into the hollowed rear end of the frame A.

The finger-bar E and the frame A are made fast to each other by the bolts or set-screws a a each of which, when released,is free to move in a corresponding slot, b b, to change and adjust the position of the connected parts at pleasure.

Attached to the finger-bar E are the platform F, the wing-board G, the adjustable dividing-board H,supporting the platform, wheel I, and the-caster wheel J, which is below the rakers stand, and made adjustable for the elevation of the rear of the platform by means of the pivot-rod c passing through eyes d d, attached to the hand-rail K, and an adjustable collar with set-screw e on the rod and lying against the under side of the uppermost eye 61. The wheel I being supported adjustably in the usual Way, these parts, in connection with the described adjustable connection of the finger-bar E to the rear of the frame A, together with the jointsB B, allow the cutter-bar and platform to be adjusted and supported for field-work at any desired elevation and in a horizontal position, whatever the height the cutter-bar and platform are made fast by the set-screws described.

L is the sickle, made (with straight edge in outline) ofa thin plate, with sickle-teeth or cutting-serrations on both edges, and all on the same side so made as to cut in only one direction.

M M are pivoted arms, by which the sickle L isattached to the cutter-bar by suitable bolts, (shown in the drawings,) and which cause the sickle to advance and recede as it ismade to move in a longitudinal direction. By means of an eye-and-bolt connection, I), with arm M, the sickle is operated through the rod N, the remote end of which passes through a holein the fixed plate 0 and touches the arm I, made fast on the end of the rock-shaft Q, which is supported from the frame A and has a catch finger, 1, attached, which last is successively lifted and released by the catch-teeth, represented in the drawings as made in continuous succession on one edge of the rim of the driv- I ing-wheel D.

A spring, S, is made fast at the rear of the frame A. At one end the sickle rod N passes through a hole in the other end of the spring S. A screw-thread upon the rod N supports the screw-nut 'I, by the adjustment of which the spring S can be made more or less tense at pleasure. An elastic rubber cushion, U, on the rod N is adjusted by the screw-nut V, and, by striking upon the face of the plate 0, arrests the recoil of S and the parts to which it gives motion.

WVhen the machine is operated the revolution of the driving-wheel causes first one of the catch-teeth on the edge of its rim to lift the end of the finger It, which, moving the rockshaft Q, causes the arm I? to vibrate inward and press against the end of the sickle-rod N, which, by its endwise movement, carries the screw-nut T against the spring S, which is thus charged, and at the same time the sickle L is moved by the peculiarities of its attachments both longitudinally and backward from the guard-fingers. During these movements, also, the advance of the machine causes the guard-fingers W \V to en ter between the stalks of standing grass or grain the same distance that the sickle S withdraws from over the guard-fingers W Vt. The instant that the catch-tooth, lifting the finger It, releases the latter the spring S recoils, and with its full force moves the rod N with the sickle and the other connected parts to their first position, and each successive tooth of the catch-wheel causes a repetition of the operation. A most eifective cutting-stroke is thus imparted to the sickle, the serrated edge of which gives a forward and drawing out, severing the stalks of the grain standing in its sweep from the base to near the points of the guard-fingers. The recoil of the spring S and throw of the sickle and rod N is arrested favorably by the adjustable elastic cushion U, which impacts upon the plate 0, as described. The rapidity of the cutting-stroke of the sickle and its effective force is thus entirely independent of the speed at which the machine is made to move over the ground, the rapidity and effectiveness of the cutting-stroke which the recoil of the spring S imparts to the sickle L being as favorably realized at the slowest possible speed of the advance of the machine as when the same is drawn along with great rapidity, and for the same reasons, it is unnecessary to back out the machine when starting afresh to prevent clogging the sickle, in'both of which results my invention has an important advantage over the reaping and mowing machines hitherto .in use, in all of which the speed of the cuttingstroke of their sickles is made to depend upon and be proportioned to the speed with which the machine is moved over the surface of the ground.

In the drawings the sickle L is represented as working under a plate, which is raised up from the surface of the cutter-bar to give room for the sickle, and being fastened to the cutter-bar at its rear edge. 0n the forward edge it is shaped to correspond with the guardingers, over which it extends, and is riveted at their ends, as shown in the drawings, room being left in the top of the guard-fingers for the advance of the sickle in its operation, as described. I sometimes dispense with this covering-plate, save'over the guard-fingers, which are madein the usual way.

By releasing the bolts by which the sickle L is attached to the swing-arms M M the sickle can he removed from the machine and changed end for end. When replaced the opposite edge is presented for cutting operations.

A pulley, Y, on the axle of the drivingwheel is used to drive the reel of the machine, which is of the usual construction and supported from the frame and platform in the usual mode; but neither this nor the drivers seat are shown in the accompanying drawings, to avoid com plication and obscurity.

In applying the within-described method of imparting cutting force to the sickles of reaping-machines by the recoil-of a charged spring to machines otherwise of the common modes of construction I have modified the apparatus in various ways. One of these can be easily illustrated by. the accompanying drawings viz: A bevel-wheel may be attached to the driving-wheel onits axle to represent the catchwheel 011 the rim of D. A bevel-pinion is then put upon the shaft Q in such position that it engages with the first-named bevel-wheel, and upon the rear end of shaft Q, in place of the arm I, a spur-shaped catch-wheel is placed,

' which is of small diameter, and the catch-teeth of which engage the end of the sickle-rod N,

and, acting in succession, alternately thrust end wise and release the rod, as before described in the apparatus represented by the drawings. Also, by catch teeth or pins on a crown-faced wheel attached to a shaft which was connected by gearing to the axis of the driving-wheel, the catch-pins acting upon a pivot-lever connected to the end of the sickle-rod N, I have produced the reciprocating movements of N and its attached parts.

I also contemplate the attachment of the rod N to harvester sickles or sickle-bars of common construction, to give them their due reciprocating motion by means of the catchwheel, spring, and recoil-cushion apparatus, herein described.

As my invention may be variously constructl ed, modified, combined, and applied, I do not wish to be confined to the particular form and full detail of parts herein described.

I am not aware that an adjustable connection of the cutter-bar and platform to the frame of harvesters or mowing-machines has heretofore been invented like that herein described, which, in connection with the other parts, allows the cutter-bar and platform to be made fast in a truly horizontal position at any desired elevation, and also provides a vacant space at the axis of the connection for springs, connecting rods, or cranks in line with the sickle. Nor am I aware that a reversible double straight-edged sickle in all respects like that herein described has heretofore been invented. I therefore do not waive my claim to either or both of these inventions in other Letters Patent for which I intend to apply.

What I herein claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The method of operating the sickles of harvesters by means of a catch-Wheel, a spring, and arecoil-cushion, connected, combined, and attached substantially as described.

S. A. CLEMENS.

WVitncsses:

(J. HAMILTON, Orr-r0 II. STARTSMAN. 

